A retractable badge reel is a device comprising a case inside of which is a reel with a cord wrapped around it. The reel is configured such that the free end of the cord can be pulled, thereby rotating the reel. Cord tension is provided by a flat coil spring; as the cord is pulled out of the case, the spring tightens. When the end of the cord is released, the cord can be rewound—either automatically by the unwinding of the spring; or through some manual manipulation, e.g., winding of a lever or via a push-button release, which allows the spring to rewind the cord. The case typically has a clip on its backside for securing it to a shirt pocket, pants waistband, or the like, of a wearer. The free end of the cord is usually attached to a bob, which in turn is attached to a badge holding strap. The face side of the badge reel (opposite the clip side) may either be plain and unadorned, or it may contain permanent markings, such as logos, names and telephone numbers, pictorial displays, or the like. Devices of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,442,194, 2,732,148, 3,968,670, 5,815,873, 5,833,165, 6,073,875, 6,290,158 and 6,364,237, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The purpose of the retractable badge reel is to allow a wearer to attach a badge to the badge holding strap and to clip the badge reel to his or her clothing. The badge is usually of the type that contains identifying information concerning the wearer, and which may be readable by a conventional electronic sensing device. In this latter case, the badge typically includes an electronic “chip” or a magnetic strip that has been encoded with certain identification information that is read by the sensor. Typically, the wearer would either present the badge to someone who would “scan” it using a handheld sensing device for example, or the wearer could be required to slide or “swipe” the badge through a stationary sensing device. In this way, the badge can be used as an electronic ID for security purposes, or to allow an employee to time in or out, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,158 describes a reel device having a housing made up of an upper lid and a bottom lid. The upper lid has a hole designed for receiving a decorative piece, which can be sized and shaped to match the hole or can be made of a pad that is sandwiched between the upper lid and a lining sleeve that sits atop the reel interior. To achieve a decorative design on the face of the reel, the upper lid and decorative piece must be installed to cover over the central hole through which a rivet passes, holding the reel together. The presence of the rivet extending through the central hole makes the imprinting of the lining sleeve so as to have the face of the lining sleeve be the visible outer face of the housing undesirable. In this fashion, the reel device requires a multitude of components to achieve a decorative marking. Further, there is no teaching that the decorative piece or the upper lid is removable to allow for changing of the decorative element once the reel has been assembled.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,875 describes a retraction reel for keys and the like which contains a cable attached at one end to the reel and at the other end to a cable fitting. The housing of the reel contains a slot just wider than the cable that widens at one end to a width just larger than the width of the cable fitting to form a rest receptacle. When in the retracted position, the cable fitting rests in the rest receptacle, and when being retracted the cable fitting is pulled perpendicularly so that the cable extends out of the slot at the smaller width. In this fashion, the cable is pulled in a straight line from the reel and not forced to bend to pass through a hole in the housing. The retraction reel of this patent has a conventional housing, with a front face attached to a back face by means of screws. The cable fitting is not prevented from moving or spinning when in the retracted position due to the wide portion of the slot being long enough to permit the cable fitting to be pulled perpendicularly, and due to the fact that the cable fitting is of a tubular shape and thus capable of spinning in the slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,237 describes a retractable badge reel with a window located on the front face of the case through which a design or logo can be seen. When the cord is pulled out of the case, it causes the design to rotate or spin. Similarly, when the cord is retracted into the case, the logo spins. The design or logo is attached to a display plate that is attached to the reel in the only embodiment presented, such that the plate and the design rotate along with the reel. As such, the cost and effort associated with changing a logo or design on a fully assembled unit would be high. The displays presented would also be inappropriate for usage on other preexisting retractable badge reels.